By Mark Hosenball

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – U.S. president Joe Biden, a career diplomat, has been appointed to head the Central Intelligence Agency. The unit will be aimed at focusing the agency on China at a moment of tensions between the two biggest economies in the world.

On Thursday, William Burns, Director of the CIA said that the China Mission Center he was establishing “cuts across all the agency’s missions areas.” However, CIA director Burns noted that his concern is not about the Chinese people but the Chinese government.

Senior CIA officials compared Burns’s creation of the China Unit to the Cold War’s intense focus on Russia and its subsequent concentration on counterterrorism after the attacks on New York City and Washington on September 11, 2001. The agency had never before created a high-level unit that was specifically focused on China, even after the harsh attack on China from former President Donald Trump’s aides.

According to a senior official, this was just one of many reshuffles that resulted from the extensive review of the agency last spring. The spokesperson spoke on condition of anonymity.

The relationship with Beijing was strained during the Biden administration’s initial months. This happened because of deep differences over many issues, such as human rights and South China Sea. But top officials from both countries met this week to improve communication and set the stage for a virtual meeting https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-says-agreed-with-china-virtual-biden-xi-summit-before-years-end-2021-10-06 of presidents by the end of the year.

The official stated that other agency actions include the merging of an Iran Mission Center, which was established by Trump’s administration, into a larger Middle East unit as well as merging a unit focused on Korea with another East Asia-Pacific unit.

Burns stated that the CIA was also creating a post for a Chief Technology officer and a new office, the Transnational and Technology Mission Center. According to a senior official, this would help the agency focus on more important issues, such as climate change, global health and disasters caused by disruptive technologies.

A program will be created by the agency that would allow qualified employees to become “technology fellows” in private industries for up to a year.

According to the senior official, the agency also had an incident cell to monitor responses to Havana Syndrome. This mysterious disease has affected many diplomats and CIA staff. Some of these have suffered real harm.